Four cops, one square mile: town weighing cutting cops gets proposals

Woodbury Heights currently has a seven-officer police department covering the 1.2-square-mile town.

Under two shared services proposals the town received, the number of officers assigned to the town would decrease to four, but the town's police force would have access to the resources of much larger departments.

Each proposes a 10-year agreement with the potential for cost increases of up to 2 percent per year. West Deptford's offer came in at $775,000 for the first year, while Woodbury offered $700,000. But Woodbury's offer is lower to account for the borough having to pay officer pensions for two years, it says. That price tag would jump to $800,000 by 2020.

West Deptford would add a new patrol zone to cover Woodbury Heights that would be staffed by the four officers, said Lyman Barnes, the township's administrator and a county freeholder. He drafted West Deptford's proposal.

Barnes said the plan could save the borough costs, and says West Deptford will only go forward "if the level of services is enhanced by the relationship."

"And if we were to proceed with this, there's nothing that would preclude the [Woodbury Heights] officers from applying and potentially being hired. There's a potential for seamlessness here."

The borough council's public safety and finance committees are reviewing the proposals and would make a decision on whether to move forward, Conley said. In that case, the borough would have the merging police department available to residents to answer questions.